Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 96% of UK towns: half of Slough is under 35.3
Residents with no religion make up 14%, against 37% across England’s towns. Locally, nearly a third of households live in a flat or apartment. Compared with other places, households without a car or van are common here: 20%, more than in 71% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 166,868 people lived in Slough, in 55,769 households.
What the Census says about Slough’s people
More born abroad than anywhere else in Berkshire
42% of residents were born outside the UK, against 25% across Berkshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (23%) and in EU countries (11%). Where people were born ↓
A city of families
43% of Slough’s 55,769 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns. 23% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A mix of backgrounds
73% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 99% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Pakistani (21%), Indian (19%) and Other White (11%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Slough’s residents are under 35.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 10% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Growth of +19% since 2011 puts Slough ahead of 83% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Slough’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 148,600 people in 2011; 176,200 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2022 to mid-2023, the population rose by 4,160, the most of any year. Change by age ran from +30% for the 45 to 64 to +4% for the 16 to 29.
Residents aged 65 and over: 10%, a lower share than 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Little separates the share of residents aged 15 to 24 here, 12%, from the figure across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Slough, 35.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 94% of UK towns: 8.2% of adults in Slough
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 9.4%, Slough is ahead of 64% of UK towns on that count. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Families with children: 43% of households, more than in 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Berkshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
A household here has 3 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. 23% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 94% of UK towns. On average, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 5.3% of the total.
Fewer detached houses than 90% of UK towns: 12% of households
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Where 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Slough has 25%. At the same time, 32% of households live in a flat, more than in 96% of UK towns; 12% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 42% in Slough, more than in 99% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (23%), then in EU countries (11%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 74% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 17%.
27% of residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 27% of Slough · Berkshire’s towns 62% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 28% of residents. The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 98% of UK towns: 33%.
In Slough, 7.1% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Slough has 51%. As a yardstick, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Adults who have never married account for 35%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 35% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
20% of Slough’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 35% have one at degree level (34%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 14%.
From a median age of 33 in Elliman to 46 in Burham North, Taplow & Dorney
The city’s 17 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Burham North, Taplow & Dorney is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Elliman the youngest (median age 33). Families with children are most common in Baylis & Stoke (50% of households).
8th lowest median age among 42 UK towns of 117,000 to 225,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Cambridge is the youngest (31.9); Poole the oldest (44.6). Nearest to Slough in age: Camden (34.6), Exeter (35.1), Blackburn (35.5) and Reading (35.7).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 6 are older than Slough
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slough | 166,868 | — | 35.3 | 10% | 43% |
| Eton | 2,461 | 1.6 mi | 18.6 | 6.7% | 18% |
| Eton Wick | 2,121 | 1.9 mi | 45.1 | 19% | 28% |
| Datchet | 4,807 | 2.5 mi | 42.6 | 18% | 29% |
| Stoke Poges | 3,920 | 2.5 mi | 46.1 | 21% | 30% |
| Farnham Common and Farnham Royal | 6,711 | 2.8 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 32% |
| Windsor | 31,569 | 2.9 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 30% |
| Iver Heath | 5,150 | 3.7 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 30% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Berkshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Berkshire (or England), summed the same way as Slough’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Slough’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 167,142 people in 2021, against 166,868 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Slough’s residents
What is the population of Slough?
The 2021 Census counted 166,868 people in Slough’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 176,200 people in mid-2024, 19% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Slough?
The median age was 35.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 10% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Slough?
27% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 62% across Berkshire’s towns. 42% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Slough?
14% said they had no religion and 33% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 28% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Slough good for families?
43% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Baylis & Stoke (50% of households). Schools are on Slough’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.